21 Post Transplant, questions about creatinine level

[Tennvol11]

I am 21 years post transplant and three days ago I got a call from my transplant clinic to inform me that my creatinine level was 1.57. And I guess I was wondering what that means, is 1.57 bad? Usually I am trending in the 1.2-1.4 range but apparently they don't like this number. Also I have zero swelling, no fever, no pain, urinating normally. However my blood pressure a bit high. Any thought would really put my mind at ease, I am freaking! Thanks, Wayne

[Kernick]

Wow! twenty one years , that is very cool. My baseline is 1.4 and it fluctuates. My transplant team is good with that number unless it continues to rise. Many things can affect that number but you should not worry until your labs establish a rising pattern. If you think you need labs again right away tell your team,

[Tennvol11 in reply to Kernick]

Thanks for your quick reply first off. I am scheduled to go to the transplant clinic next week and they are talking about scheduling a biopsy which I am absolutely petrified of needles and anything around my incision so I am in a bad state of panic because of this. The said that they need to see what is happening on a cellular level.

So is 1.57 a high number or what does that mean?

[Kernick in reply to Tennvol11]

It is a little high for you. After twenty one years you have experience that not many do. I would try to relax . Get new labs done right away and see what happens.

[Lbw62]

Hi, I understand your fear! My daughter is 28 years old, 4 months post transplant next week. Her levels were in normal range (.5 - 1.2) a few weeks after transplant but have continued to tread up (1.8) currently. She went for a biopsy last week. Preliminary results of the biopsy were negative for rejection. Her labs this week still had her creatinine level high. Waiting for her next clinic appointment. She has had difficulty since the transplant getting her in Envarsus levels into a therapeutic range and stable . Others on this forum have infurned me that this is common. So you are not alone. And others share your fear of needles; my daughter is petrified as well. Wishing you the very best outcome possible. Please keep us posted.

[Tennvol11 in reply to Lbw62]

So how did she handle the biopsy? And was it painful?

[Lbw62 in reply to Tennvol11]

She was very anxious so they gave her medication to help calm her nerve's. The procedure itself did not take long, if I had to quest it was less than 15 minutes. Then she had to lay flat for 4 hours to make sure there was no bleeding. Overall having a biopsy done on the transplanted kidney was easier and less painful than her biological kidneys (going through her back). We'll see what they say about her fluctuating levels when she goes to clinic this week. It is a juggling act with these medications.

[Sandybru]

Hi Wayne,

Don't worry it means your creatinine is a little high and they will keep an eye on you. Remember to drink lots of water. They will keep an eye on your blood tests and can intervene if there worried. I found this on my hospital site hope it helps. My creatinine has been up to 1.84 and I'm still here. X

Creatinine [Creat]

This is the best routine blood test for measuring how well kidneys are working. It is produced by muscles and put out by the kidneys. Because it is produced by the muscles, it tends to be higher in muscular people, so that a weightlifter with normal kidney function will have more creatinine in their blood than a little old lady. Normal = 60-120 micromol/litre (0.7-1.4 mg/dl).

Result

Comments

less than 60

Suggests a very small person, or someone with little muscle (including children).

60-120

'Normal' - but there could still be reduced kidney function (see below)

120-200

Mild to moderate kidney failure - but in someone with little muscle, 200 could sometimes mean more severe kidney failure.

300+

Moderate to severe kidney failure.

Most dialysis patients have creatinine measurements over 300 all of the time.

Creatinine measurement methods vary, so the same blood samples may give slightly different results in two different labs. They also vary from day to day.

This means that small % changes in Creatinine do not mean much unless they are part of a trend. Sometimes you need to repeat the test to be sure.

A problem with Creatinine tests is that levels do not rise much in early kidney disease - they may be normal until more than 50% of kidney function is lost in some people. Ways to get round this include using creatinine along with other things (e.g. age) to estimate GFR - eGFR gives an approximate % kidney function, and is returned automatically on many samples sent for creatinine measurement. Creatinine Clearance is a more difficult measurement of kidney function that requires a 24 hour urine collection.